It’s still a $50bn business in the US-marketing strategies in cosmetics industry

As a makeup addict myself, I spend over $150 every month on all types of cosmetics such as makeups, perfumes, skin cares, nail polishes and so on. The global cosmetics industry is still considered to be a multibillion dollar business. Taking the US cosmetics industry for example, Americans contribute approximately $40 to $50 billion US dollars annually.Because the pursuit of a better looking and a better life never stops.

But how does cosmetics company make a sale?

Here are some internal marketing strategies in cosmetics industry:

>High value free gift:

I always got interested in purchasing cosmetics when a high value gift pack comes with an order.  For example, if there is a $150 worth of gift that comes with an order of $35, I’d end up buying something that I don’t really need just to get the gift.  Little did I know that this is just a marketing strategy for some cosmetics companies such as Estee Lauder, Clinique, Lancome and so many more. Everyone loves to receive something free. Even though I rarely use any of the gift products because most of them are not in my regular routine, the free gift sale method never fails to attract my attention.

>Product Sample:

We always get free samples along with orders. This is a good way for consumers to try out new products, which gives the consumers the chances to get to know a product, and possibly get a full size later. Thus free samples definitely drive sales.

>Blogs and Newsletters:

The cosmetics industry adopted social network marketing strategy pretty well nowadays. A lot of cosmetics companies pay bloggers to review their products and sometimes require them to give positive feedback. This method is a good way to launch new product because bloggers tend to be the opinion leader to a certain group of people, and when the many gurus all rave about one product, followers are very likely to be interested and end up buying it. This marketing strategy rely on the subscription system, same as the newsletter. It doesn’t matter whether a consumer subscribed to a blogger, YouTube guru, or a brand newsletter. The marketer is able to reach its consumers through this subscription system by sending out discount information, giveaways to remind the consumers to shop, which increase sales.

There are a lot of other marketing strategies such as free shipping when reached a certain amount; reward and point system that encourage consumers to purchase more and establish customer loyalty; celebrity endorsement on a limited edition product to make it more special to own and so on.

I have so many free gifts and samples,even full size products that I never have the chance to use but I am still purchasing more and more cosmetics.  Which means these marketing strategies still work very well on people like me. Does it work on you too? Have you ever fallen for one of the marketing  traps and end up spending on something you don’t really need?